Loyalty
by Socially Awesome Zombie
Summary: Ashfur wasn't always the cat we knew. He was a loyal ThunderClan warrior, a loving brother and mentor. What happened? Love can change someone, for better or for worse. And when it comes from someone touched by darkness, well, its even worse. Hawkfrost/Ashfur. Takes place from Sunset to Long Shadows. Rated T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is a small project I'm working on as I try to get back my inspiration for Plague.**

**Ashfur's got a lot of crap from the fanbase, but I really don't think that just because Squirrelflight dumped him he would go all psycho and try to kill her family and ruin her life. Unless, he had some influence from a cat who wanted Firestar out of the way? A cat who was manipulative and evil and would do anything for power?**

**So yes, in a way this is a Hawk/Ash story. Enjoy.**

**-Zombie.**

* * *

Beams of warm sunlight fell through the canopy of trees, barring the forest floor with confliction stripes of light and shadow. Birds sang cheerfully to one another, flitting from branch to branch above the gray tom's head. He pulled himself forward slowly, blue eyes focused on the rodent nibbling obliviously on a seed a few yards in front of him. His pale gray pelt blended with the shadows thrown by the undergrowth. _Just a little farther…_ He stalked forward a bit more, death approaching the mouse on silent paws.

Just as he was preparing to leap, voices whispered through his mind. _I'm sorry,_ they breathed. _I only like you as a friend._ Sparks of anger ignited in his chest, his claws sliding out to tear into the soft earth beneath him as he fought to keep his attention on the small creature in front of him and ignore the voice inside his head. He crept forward a bit more, biting back a hiss of irritation when the whispers persisted. Distracted, he failed to notice the small twig lying in his path; a small snap reverberated through the forest as he crushed it beneath a single flecked paw. The mouse's head jerked up, its nose twitching as it scented the air. Ashfur leapt, his claws unsheathed and outstretched, but it was too late. The mouse disappeared just as the tom's paws crashed into the exact place it had been just a heartbeat earlier. _Now all the prey will know I'm here,_ he thought. With another annoyed hiss, he decided to try closer to the lake's shore.

It had been three moons since they arrived here, and gradually Ashfur was learning the layout of the forest around the lake. It was much different from the forest he had been born in, the territory they had lived in until Twolegs had started destroying it. The four Clans—ThunderClan, RiverClan, ShadowClan, and WindClan—had traveled hundreds of miles across unfamiliar territory, over harsh and unforgiving mountains, to this lake where they now lived. Many had lost their lives on the Great Journey, but for now, peace ruled the forests and moors around the shining expanse of water.

Four cats had been chosen to travel ahead of the Clans: Brambleclaw from ThunderClan; Tawnypelt, his sister, from ShadowClan; Feathertail from RiverClan; and Crowfeather from WindClan. Squirrelflight and Stormfur had tagged along, and together the six of them had brought the united Clans here.

At the thought of the ginger she-cat, Ashfur's heart sped up and his claws slid out. Squirrelflight was beautiful, brave and willing to risk everything for her Clan. He remembered the way it felt to have her pelt pressing against his as they lay in the warriors' den. The way she would look up at him with those gleaming emerald eyes as if he was the most fascinating creature in the forest. Her laughter ringing in his ears as she laughed at some joke he had told her, his heart soaring at the sound of it. StarClan, she was _perfect_. Ashfur knew that he loved the she-cat with everything in him; he was made for her, made to be her mate, to be the one to show her just how special she was.

_I only like you as a friend._ Squirrelflight's words repeated themselves, shattering his flawless memories of her. _That's right._ She had chosen Brambleclaw over him; Brambleclaw, son of the cat who had murdered Ashfur's own mother and countless others, who had led stray dogs into their camp, who had brought pure evil in the forms of Scourge and BloodClan into their forest. The earth had run scarlet with the blood of innocent cats. Ashfur was so much better than him; he had so much more to offer! His claws tore into the soft grass, anger and betrayal filling him. She had chose Brambleclaw over him, knowing who his father was and what he had done. He was probably just like the sadistic tom who had once terrorized the forest, just waiting to brainwash and gain the trust of them all before he sprung. Well, Ashfur wasn't fooled. Not one bit.

Another warm prey-scent caught his attention. Looking up, he spotted the gray form of a squirrel scuttling among the roots of an oak tree just a few fox-lengths away. Ashfur dropped into a crouch at once, eyes snapping to freeze on the rodent as it grasped an acorn in its paws. Dragging himself toward it, pulling forward inch by inch, he closed the space between himself and his prey in a matter of seconds. Squirrelflight's voice echoed in his ears, and with a snarl he leapt, crashing into the smaller creature as it let out a startled squeak. Pinning it to the ground, he watched it writhe in terror as it fought for its pitiful life. With on swift, fluid movement, Ashfur's claws slashed across its throat, crimson painting his toes. The squirrel convulsed under his feet, choked, gurgling noises coming from it.

Ashfur felt a small spark of morbid satisfaction as he watched the small animal's life ebb away beneath him. It felt good to get rid of some of the hurt and anger he had been plagued with in the last few days. He slashed his claws across the dead rodent's body, thinking that this could be Brambleclaw underneath him, his claws tearing through skin and fur, blood splattering his pelt. This could be Brambleclaw feeling the same agony he felt. Ashfur tore into the squirrel again and again, until it was nothing but a scarlet pulp under his claws.

"So, are you actually going to eat that prey? Or are you just going to use as a scratching post?" At the sound of the voice, Ashfur's head jerked up. He looked around for the source, finally spotting the cat standing on the smooth stones at the edge of the lake. The handsome dark brown tabby sat with his tail wrapped around his paws, washing the white patch on his chest. He looked up, icy blue eyes meeting Ashfur's as he shot him a friendly smile.

Ashfur's heart stopped for a long moment before he replied. "Hawkfrost," he meowed, his voice calm and even. "What're you doing here? You're a long way from RiverClan territory."

"Oh, I was just taking a walk," the tom said with a shrug. He flicked his tail toward him, his head tipped to the side as he studied Ashfur. "So are you going to answer my question?"

Ashfur narrowed his eyes. "I don't think that's any of your business," he replied coolly, his heart racing. Hawkfrost was a RiverClan warrior, an enemy; he shouldn't trust him. But when he looked at Ashfur, the gray tom felt sparks of the same thing he had felt in the beginning with Squirrelflight. And his eyes were so full of concern, gentle and patient as he washed his paw with his tail around feet. Ashfur sighed, looking down at the bloodied heap under him. "It's a long story," he said. "I just thought… There's someone I really care about, and I thought they felt the same way. But I guess I was wrong."

"That sounds rough," Hawkfrost murmured, his gaze washing over Ashfur. "They don't know what they're thinking. I've heard about you at Gatherings; you fought against BloodClan back in the old forest didn't you? And you're always fighting and hunting for your Clan, a model warrior." Hawkfrost shrugged. "If some she-cat can't see what a good choice you are, well, she's got bees in her brain."

Ashfur's heart sped up at the praise of the handsome tom, his pelt burning with embarrassment and pride. "I guess you're right," he muttered, looking away. Glancing at his prey, he made the decision to catch more before he returned to camp. "You'll need to get out of here before a patrol comes. I know you're technically outside the border, but still." Ashfur shuffled his paws before picking up the squirrel and padding back towards the forest.

Hawkfrost's rich laughter followed him as he slipped between the ferns. "I'll make sure they don't catch me," he promised. "I'll see you around sometime?"

Ashfur looked over his shoulder at the warrior. Hawkfrost stood looking back at him, a shy, almost hopeful expression on his face, something out of place on the powerful, confident tom. _I'm a loyal ThunderClan warrior for StarClan's sake_, Ashfur berated himself. Yet even as he said this, he knew what the answer would be.

"Yeah, I guess I'll see you again soon."


	2. Chapter 2

**Ugh why is this so short and crappy? I'm really sorry about the quality of this chapter; I'm not the best when it comes to characters falling in love with each other. Guess that's what happens when you shun chick-flicks as much as I do.**

**Anyways, next up will be a Hawkfrost chapter, so I guess you can look forward to that. Enjoy this tiny update; I promise the next one will be better.**

**-Zombie.**

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The ThunderClan hollow was filled with dying light as Ashfur dropped his prey into the fresh-kill pile. He'd ended up catching a blackbird and a shrew to make up for the squirrel and its disheveled state. As he picked out his dinner for the night—a nice fat blackbird—his mind wandered back to Hawkfrost. The handsome tabby had been on his mind as he hunted, nearly making him miss his prey. What did he want with Ashfur? If he had simply just wanted to be friends, why not wait to speak with him at the next Gathering? Why go out of his way to 'go for a walk' as he put it, just to run into him at the border? Ashfur shook his head. He had no clue what was with that tom.

_Why are you so concerned,_ a small voice in his ear murmured. _Why are you so curious about that RiverClan tom? What's so special about him?_

Because, he told himself, when Hawkfrost looked at him with those icy eyes, Ashfur could feel a small spark of what he had felt when he was with Squirrelflight. Maybe not love—definitely not love, he berated himself—but definitely… something. The gray tom sighed with confusion. Maybe he was just over thinking everything.

"Hey, Ashfur!" a familiar voice called. Looking up, he spotted Squirrelflight standing with Brambleclaw, beckoning towards him with her tail. "Come and eat with us!"

At once, thoughts of the handsome dark tom vanished, replaced with hurt and anger towards the two of them. How dare they have the nerve to talk to him, after all they put him through! With a growl, he turned his back on them, padding towards Rainwhisker and Cloudtail, two of his childhood friends. Behind him he could hear Squirrelflight wondering why Ashfur had acted like that, and his tail lashed in annoyance.

Rainwhisker was the first to spot him, his blue eyes warm and welcoming. "Hey, Ashfur," he greeted, as the pale gray tom settled beside them. Cloudtail nodded to him as he chewed at his food. "How are you doing?"

"I'm alright I suppose," he muttered, taking a bite of the bird as he spoke. He heard laughter somewhere across the hollow; glancing over his shoulder, he saw Squirrelflight lying close to Brambleclaw, her tail draped over his as he told her some joke. Ashfur quickly looked away, resentment boiling inside him and a growl rumbling low in his throat. He tore another chunk out of his prey, feathers sticking to his muzzle.

Rainwhisker followed his gaze before letting out a knowing _hmm_. "I see," he murmured. The dark gray tom looked sympathetically at Ashfur, brushing his tail along his flank. "Don't let her get to you, Ashfur. She's just a she-cat; she's not worth any of this heartache."

"Rainwhisker is right," Cloudtail agreed. "No she-cat is worth yours and Brambleclaw's friendship."

Ashfur just grunted, and the three toms ate in silence. How could anyone think him and Brambleclaw were friends? He hated him for taking his love from him, and he hated Squirrelflight for choosing him. No, they weren't friends, not in the least. He finished the rest of his meal and quickly washed himself before getting to his feet. "I'm going to go and volunteer Birchpaw and myself for the evening patrol," he mewed. "I'll talk with you two later." With a flick of his tail he padded towards the apprentices' den, ignoring the ginger she-cat and her dark, handsome mate as he passed them. He stifled another snarl as he poked his head into the den. Birchpaw and Whitepaw, the only other apprentice in ThunderClan at the time, were chatting happily with one another. "We're going on the evening patrol," Ashfur mewed. Birchpaw nodded happily, saying his goodbyes to his denmate and following his mentor to where Firestar was organizing patrols.

"May Birchpaw and I join the evening patrol?" he asked as he approached the ginger tom. "We haven't had much time to train together to day, and I thought we could work on his tracking skills as we went along."

Firestar nodded gratefully. Ever since their deputy, Graystripe, had disappeared before the Great Journey, the fiery leader had been making the patrols. Everyone knew he needed to replace him, but they also knew that he was holding onto some shred of hope that his friend was still alive and on his way to them. "That sounds good," he said. "Go and meet Sandstorm by the tunnel; tell her you'll be joining her tonight."

With a nod mentor and apprentice turned and trotted to where the pale ginger she-cat was waiting for them, along with Thornclaw, Dustpelt, and Brightheart. As they padded out into the forest, Ashfur's mind wandered absently to the RiverClan camp. He wondered what Hawkfrost was doing, if he had made it home safely. But he only shook his head, forcing himself to focus on the more important task at hand.

_Stop it,_ he scolded himself. _Hawkfrost__ is a warrior from another Clan. Even if you think you could be friends, you need to think of your Clan more, not him._

And yet, Ashfur couldn't help but remember the glow of those icy eyes as he walked into the sunlit forest.


End file.
